Heroes: Apocalypse
by Olivia Warden
Summary: In the slums of Harlem, New York, a young boy struggles under the weight of poverty and the constant pressures of a gang war that has enveloped his entire family. He soon discovers that he has the incredible ability to paint the future... continued
1. Introduction

_Have you ever wanted to be extraordinary? _

_To leave your boring, uniformed life behind and sail up through the clouds....breath under water for an infinite amount of time, or have the power to cure any illness?_

_Heroes are among us. They appear to be ordinary citizens, but what are they really? The next stage in human evolution, or some part of god's divine plan? But is it their extraordinary abilities that make them heroes, or is their will and the choices that they make that earn them the title?_

_As ordinary humans across the world begin to discover their extraordinary abilities they will be thrown prematurely into a series of elaborate mazes and plot twists that will have them fighting for their very lives as even the bonds of trust, friendship, and brotherhood will be tested._

**Heroes: Apocalypse**

In the slums of Harlem, New York, a young boy struggles under the weight of poverty and the constant pressures of a gang war that has enveloped his entire family. As if things weren't bad enough for young Luke, he soon discovers that he has the incredible ability to paint the future after his attempt at graffiti becomes a message of the coming apocalypse.

Meanwhile, Sylar is once again on the loose, using a list stolen from Primatech to hunt down people with abilities. But as he will soon find out, he isn't the only predator knocking off supers. Will he find an enemy that matches his ruthlessness or new partner to join the cause.

As if things weren't bad enough for the new Heroes developing their powers, Primatech, aside from hunting Sylar full time, has also committed its resources to imprisoning those that they deem to be 'Too dangerous'.

As your powers grow, you must choose your path. Will you save the world….or leave it in ruin?

A/N: This story is a serialization of the RP on the Gaia Online available at this address: www. gaiaonline. com/guilds/?gmode=index&guild_id=54501 (remove spaces in address). It was created through the combined efforts of the people listed below with their Gaia name as well as the characters they play. I edited for grammar and continuity but otherwise tried to keep the original script intact as much as possible.

**Noah Ranura **Luke Johnson, Jacob Elliot  
**XxWise Prarie DogxX **Sirus Demium, Alex Demium  
**iPodofJustice **Jackson Harper, Kai Summers  
**jhodder **Sylar, Scott Maxwell  
**Devil Jinn **John Walker, Ryan Daniels  
**bloodylilrose **Rose Doppler  
**Hypatia Star **Bela Luxor, Nica Luxor  
**Naughty Paige **Paige Tehbo  
**syberfang **Eliziah Slade  
**TearsOfMyBrokenHeart **Adem Johnson  
**The Spoonish Farmer **Maxie Thomas, Daniel Thomas


	2. The Vision

**Luke Johnson, New York**** City**

Luke could see it all. The future was unfolding before him on the wall. His hands were moving; they held spray cans darting left to right, up and down, outlining the image. There was nothing he could do about it, there was never anything he could do. It was like somebody else had taken over his body and was now furiously arching back and forth, exchanging colors. Luke was merely a spectator.

When he finally finished, Luke stepped back, his vision returning to normal, but the vision of the future was still there, painted on the wall. A young boy flailing helplessly into the street and the taxi driver's eyes wide in horror as he struggled to slam on the breaks. But then there was _her_; a girl was there, her arms wrapped around the child, her eyes closed, shielding him from the impact.

Luke began trembling. He had to warn somebody, but as he turned around he quickly learned that he had acquired a large number of spectators. People had begun to gather around to admire his handiwork, and Luke knew that it wouldn't be long before the police arrived, and sure enough...

As soon as he saw the NYPD officer pushing through the crowd, Luke took off down the opposite direction, ignoring the man's shouts as he began to pursue.

**Paige Tehbo, New York City**

As Paige took a detour home from school she managed to get held up by a crowd of people, which wasn't odd for New York. They were focused on something on the side of the building. She stopped to look. It took several attempts before she finally managed to catch a glimpse of the graffiti. The only problem was, that the girl in the painting looked exactly like her—wearing the exact same clothes.

Paige shook her head and started to walk away "That's not possible," she said to herself. Then as she crossed the street, passing a group of younger elementary school kids that were goofing around in the crosswalk, she turned just in time to see an older boy shove a younger one back into the street just as the light turned green. "Look out!" Paige shouted, but the kid froze as he saw the front bumper to the cab quickly approaching him at forehead level. Without thinking Paige ran back out into the street and jumped for the kid, hoping to pull him out of the way, but it was too late.

When she opened her eyes again she saw a blur of motion as the taxi cab passed, not by her, but through her, like she was a ghost.

Luke ducked through another alley way, which spilled out back onto the main road ways. By time he had passed several blocks Luke had made a full circle, almost back to the exact spot where he started. He arrived just in time, to see his painting come true. The girl—she couldn't have been more than seventeen at the most—jumped out to save the child. Luke winced, he expected to hear a loud thump and then open his eyes to see two bloody corpses on the ground.

Miraculously, as the girl reached out and shielded the child the taxi continued to pass through them, hiding them momentarily from view. But as soon as the vehicle passed, Luke stared in amazement, along with some fifty to a hundred other New Yorkers, as the girl and the child were still crouching on the ground, unharmed.

"No way!"

Paige looked around. They were still alive....wait....yep, definitely alive. "What, how...?" She looked around and saw all of the people staring at her; it was as if half the city had stopped to watch. Shaking nervously, Paige looked down at the kid she had her arms wrapped around. He was safe, and like everyone else, looking at her. She gently let go, snaking her arms away from him and stood up slowly. There were a few moments of awkward silence in which she expected someone to say, 'Ha, gotcha' and then everybody would laugh.

But instead someone in the group started clapping and soon enough everybody around her was applauding. Flushed red and confused, Paige turned and pushed her way through the crowd of people, hoping to get away before the any police officers tried to question her.

Once she was clear of the crowd, she broke out at a run, heading for home. Only then did she realize that she had dropped her purse. But it was too late now, she just kept running.

Maxie skated down the street to where he saw a big crowd. "What's happening," he asked a passerby.  
"That girl went through a car," the man said.

Maxie pushed through the crowd to get to the front.

Luke drew himself from his state of disbelief. He too needed to disappear, despite his powerful curiosity to learn more about that girl. As if some divine force had answered his prayers, he looked down and saw her purse in the middle of the street.

He waited until the onlookers were too busy giving their statements and he walked out casually and retrieved it, pulling out her driver's license and telephone number. Eventually he would have to make a stop by her residence— besides, he needed to return her purse anyway.


	3. The Players

**[one week ago]**

**Alex Demium, New York**

Alex had expected his venture to America to be mostly uneventful. At least up to this point it had been. As soon as he stepped off the boarding ramp at New York international air strip, he saw a news report on the tele telling the amazing story of a painting that had been drawn just minutes before the actual event occurred and how several eye witnesses were claiming to have seen a young girl pass through the taxi cab—the vehicle going twenty miles an hour—and come out unharmed, with no indication of injury. "I guess you were right, Sirus," he said to himself, "we aren't alone."

**Sirus Demium, random bar**

America was great. He had walked into the bar with his hood drawn up over his head and ordered a beer. The bar keep hadn't even proofed him. Which was good, because he had stopped carrying an ID long ago. Not that he didn't have another means of obtaining what he wanted.

To prove the point to himself...which caused him to chuckle mentally at himself for arguing with his ego. Sirus glanced over at a glass sitting across the room and waved his hand. The object seemed to fade lightly in the dim lighting. When Sirus looked down the glass was sitting on the table in his shadow, solid as can be.

Then Sirus's eyes darted upwards and a bald man in a tidy business suit rose to his feet and slipped on his jacket. The man looked around nervously, almost paranoid, like somebody was watching him. And he should be. He seemed to shake off the feeling and then walked out of the bar.

Naturally Sirus stood up and followed him.

**Maxie Thomas, New York City**

Maxie sat on a bench in the middle of New York. He was looking at some interesting wall art on the other side of the road. "That's amazing," Maxie muttered under his breath.

Soon Maxie got up and got on his skate board. He didn't know why but recently he had been thinking a lot about his parent and it was getting him down. His Mum was his rock; she kept him sane. Maxie missed both his parents so much.

A few blocks down Maxie felt like he was being watched. "Hello?" he called out hoping for a response, but nothing. So he turned and carried on walking until he heard the bins behind him rattle. Maxie ran to the bins to look but nothing was there. "Who are you?" Maxie shouted.

**Daniel Thomas, New York**

Daniel was waiting outside the house of a person with an ability. As he peered through the window he saw two people standing in the middle of the floor. "Ok, I think we should go in!" he said to his partner. She looked back and nodded.

Daniel kicked the door down and walked in. "Stop right there!" he said with his stun gun out. "Quick, run—it's the agent!" the man in the middle of the floor said as the two people ran to the back door.

Suddenly from the back door Daniel's partner appeared and shot her stun gun at them. "See, you don't need an ability to catch them," she said.

"Yeah, I'd like to see you fly," Daniel muttered under his breath.

**Nica & Bela Luxor, San Francisco**

The school bell rang through the halls, signaling the beginning of the last weekend of the Luxor twins' high school experiences. Nica found her sister surrounded by a swarm of cheerleaders and dance team members. Catching sight of her, Bela disengaged herself and joined Nica in walking outside to the locker they shared.

"Can you believe we only have one more day left till we're outta here forever?"

"Three days, actually," Nica corrected her calmly.

"Weekends don't count," Bela protested. "Anyway, the point is that--oh God."

Nica followed her sister's dread-filled gaze. A muscular brunette in a Varsity football jacket appeared at the end of the building in front of them, circumspecting the campus with a concentrated effort.

"Quick, pretend you don't see me," Bela said ironically as she disappeared from sight just in the nick of time. The jock spotted Nica and immediately headed toward her, flashing a smile which made most girls weak in the knees but had little effect on either twin.

"Hey Nikki, you seen Bela around?"

Nica didn't bother to correct him about her name; she doubted Bela would keep him around long enough for it to matter anyway. "Yeah, you just missed her. She went that way," she pointed in the direction she had come from, and sure enough her sister's likeness was striding towards the other side of the school. The jock ran after her without offering a thanks and Nica allowed herself a small smile of satisfaction. Mentally she led the figure to an open doorway on the far side of the building, knowing full well that the jock wouldn't find her once she passed through it. Seconds later he took the bait.

"It's safe," Nica said when he was out of sight. Bela reappeared next to her.

"Thank God. I seriously don't know how much longer I can avoid him."

"Why are you even dating the guy if you're not interested?"

"Because! You know I've had a crush on Coach Radcliff since like freshmen year and dating Jason is the perfect excuse for checking him out every day at practice."

"That's kinda gross, Bela. The guy's like ten years older than you."

"Hey! I don't judge you for liking girls so why should you judge me for liking older men?"

Her sister did have a surprisingly good point. "I guess you're right," she conceded.

"Oh my God!" Bela exclaimed, taking her sister by surprise. "I totally forgot about that party tonight down at Club eX. We have to go buy something to wear."

"But we're not even old enough to get into-- Oh no, out of the question," Nica's voice suddenly changed as she realized what her sister was up to.

"Oh come on, there will be plenty of cute girls there for you to scope." Nica grimaced, obviously unconvinced. "Well if you're not coming with me then I guess I'll have to just go alone."

Nica sighed heavily. "Fine, I'll go so I can keep an eye on you so you don't get into any more trouble."

"You can try," Bela said with a wink. "Now come on," she said, grabbing Nica's arm and pulling her in the direction of their car. "Let's go shopping!"

**Eliziah Slade- New York City**

A small stream of energy came through his fingertips and began to mend the pieces of the chips together. In the distance Eliziah could hear the sound of faint footsteps approaching from behind. The light turned on.

"Honey, come to bed," a woman said as arms slipped down over his shoulders and caressed his chest.

"I'm almost done, I'll be there in a minute." Eliziah said without taking his focus from the task at hand.

"Come on, you don't know what you're missing." Her voice turning seductive now, and a weird feeling trickled in his ear, but he ignored it.

"Uhuh," he let out in a short breath. There was a short sigh then she withdrew her arms quickly.

"Eliziah Slade! It's happening again," she said, anger protruding from her voice.

"What?" Eliziah became defensive.

"You're ignoring me again," she said in a pout.

"Chyanne," he said, turning the swivel chair around and taking her hands in his. "I love you." And with that he turned around and continued his task.

"You know I hate it when you do that," she complained. "Where's your sautering gun?"

"Couldn't find it," he returned quickly. She walked right next to him and pulled open the drawer on his right and tossed the sautering gun on the table.

He let out a sigh, then took the sautering gun and plugged it in. She smiled and walked back into the room. When she was out of sight, he pulled the energy from within the outlet again, through his finger, and continued the task.

**Rose Doppler, Rose's Apartment, NYC**

Rose had lay in bed all day, just listening to the strange sounds around her apartment building. She had seen what had happened in the streets, the picture on the wall, the girl, everything.

She sat up and swiftly turned to let her legs hang off the side of her bed. She saw a glimpse of herself standing up, taking a few small steps forward, turning to the right and taking a few more steps, then turning right again into a bathroom. She did just that. She moved her hand across the wall, shivering as her hand hit something cold, metal, something she remembered. She ran her fingers across the metal shower bar until she touched another metal object. Instead of moving horizontally it was vertical; she remembered it also. She moved her hand down her mirror to her sink. She felt for the knob and turned on the water. She cupped her hands and let them fill with water. She brought her face down to the sink and splashed the water on her face. She placed her hand on the mirror and sighed.

She walked out of the bathroom the same way she went in, back to her bed. She got up and moved her hand against her bed to her shoes. She slipped them on and grabbed a jacket hanging on the side of her bed. She ran her hand across her wall, stopped at her desk grabbing her glasses and putting them on along with her jacket and made her way to the door. She turned the knob, opened the door and left her apartment closing the door behind her. It was one of those old time apartments, no elevators. She placed her hand on the railing and walked down until the railing ended.

She saw a glance of herself walking forward, moving out of the way of a pizza man, then keep walking out to the side walk. She moved forward just in time. "WOW!" The pizza guy swung the bag of pizza, trying not to hit her. She ducked and he missed. She kept walking out to the sidewalk, kept seeing things so she wouldn't get hurt.

**Jacob Elliot, Kirby Plaza**

"Ah, I love the smell of paper in the morning," Jacob said as he passed the secretary sitting at the desk in the lobby. The phrase, to the casual listener, sounded like a bad humored joke, but in fact it was one of the many phrases that Company employees used to prove their identities when checking in at a facility, especially after the incident with the shape shifter.

He then started into the elevator and pressed the fire button; instead of setting off an alarm, a panel slid open to reveal a new set of buttons, each leading to a lower floor that went underneath the Primatech facility.

Once on his office level, Jacob let himself in and sat down at his desk. As per routine an agent walked through the door carrying several files. "Ah...what do we have for today...more fire breathers in Mexico?"

"Take your pick," the man replied, "there's several newer ones. A precog, apparently painted the future on a wall earlier today, saved a child's life. Then there is the girl that saved him, a phaser. And of course....our new Sylar wanna-be."

Jacob's smiled turned to a frown almost instantly. "Interesting, I'll take all three."

"You're the boss." The man handed over the files and left, leaving Jacob to his thoughts.

**Sylar, Downtown New York**

Gabriel held out his hand, as a rusted tin can floated in the air; his telekinesis seemed to work fine. However, when he tried to zap it with the electrical manipulation powers of Elle Bishop, not even the smallest spark was produced. Drawing the can into his hand, he attempted the transmutation power of Elle's father, Bob, to turn the can to gold. This was once again met with failure.

After a failed try to shape shift his face, Sylar tensed his hand, cutting it on the tin can. Making note that even Claire Bennet's regenerative powers were gone, he gritted his teeth in anger, and he violently threw the can at the brick wall of the alleyway. He didn't understand how, but his last encounter had taken almost everything away from him; his original power of intuitive aptitude and telekinesis were all he had left.


	4. The Encounter

**Alex Demium, New York City**

Alex leaned over, buckling his seatbelt a little too late as the taxi driver pulled off of the curve and sped up into traffic, weaving in and out of the other cars. This couldn't be legal. Eventually, the roller coaster-like taxi ride stopped and Alex handed the driver a wad of ones, then stumbled out of the cab, muttering to himself, "Never again."

Alex glanced down at the paper in his hands; this was the address he had been given. Sirus was supposed to be meeting this man, Walter Albertson. Alex stepped up to the door and knocked, and to his astonishment the door slid open gently. It wasn't even locked.

As Alex took his first steps into the apartment he felt a chill down his spine and knew something was wrong. "Hello, Mr. Albertson?" He called, hand searching the wall for the light switch. But when he flicked them on, nothing happened. Instead, Alex held up his hand, and in his palm a small glowing orb began to form. Alex focused and in one bright flash he illuminated the entire apartment.

"Holy—" Alex covered his mouth, both trying to resist the urge to scream and holding back vomit. Walter Albertson was lying on the floor, skin cut up like ribbons and his face staring up at the ceiling in horror, his eyes white, as if the pupils had been burned away.

Sirus stepped out of the back door of the apartment as the front door swung open and voice called out, "Mr. Albertson?" He paused, almost tempted to turn around and walk back into the house....the voice was so familiar. But then the distant sound of police sirens brought him back to reality.

He looked down at the red stains on his hands and in a gesture of guilt he shoved them deep into his pockets and started walking down the alley way. Once he reached the end of straight away he stepped into a shadow and vanished instantly from sight.

Alex picked up the phone and dialed the police. He gave the address and reported the murder. But as soon as he was finished he stepped out of the apartment through the back door so he wouldn't attract any attention.

For a moment, Alex caught a flicker of something the darkness, but he blinked his eyes a few times and shook his head, taking off in the opposite direction. He needed to stay focused, and being taken in for questioning by the police would put a wrench in his mission.

Remembering his unpleasant taxi experience, Alex climbed aboard a bus, paying the tax and taking a seat in the front. His only lead had fallen through, and now he was back to scratch.

**Daniel Thomas, Primatech Facility**

Daniel walked in the doors of Primatech and took in the air. He enjoyed his job. He couldn't help but think about his son. He looked at a photo and quickly shot out the door.

As Daniel left the Primatech Facility he looked for people on either side. As he saw no one he ran round the back of the building and flew away. At this moment he had no idea where he was going or what he was going to do; all he knew is that he needed to find his son.

**Maxie Thomas, New York**

Maxie was walking down the street and noticed a puddle. Wanting some fun, Maxie walked up to the puddle and put his hand on it till it froze over completely. Unfortunately he applied too much pressure and cracked all the pavement slabs.

Realizing what he had done he got on his skate board and started to ride away. "I'm getting a lot more powerful," he muttered to himself.

Maxie was still learning things about his powers. He had no idea what his powers could do and had no idea how much harm he could do. He was scared by them and thought he was a threat to society.

He was skating down the street to get to the park and after went to lie down. It was a nice day so the sun was shining down.

Soon after there was a human shaped figure blocking it. Not knowing what it was and not being able to see he whipped out his phone and took a picture.

Daniel was in front of the sun knowing his son wouldn't be able to make out who he is. After a picture was taken he flew away.

Landing back outside Primatech he said to himself. "God that was close".

**Rose Doppler, Rose's Apartment**

Rose sat up again, and turned off her radio. She grabbed her sunglasses again and left her apartment, slamming the door behind her. She walked back down the hallway to the stairs with her hand against the wall. She put her hand on the railing and went down the stairs. She stopped once she got there and sighed. "What does a bored blind girl do in New York City?" she asked herself kiddingly. She sat at the bottom of the stairs, thinking.

**Maxie Thomas, Student Apartments, New York**

Maxie lived in a student apartment with three other students. The apartment had two bedrooms, a basic living area, a basic kitchen and a bathroom. As Maxie got in, John, the boy he shared a room with, ran up to him and said, "Maxie, this came for you." He handed Maxie a letter and waited to see what it said. Maxie opened the letter an read it. It simply said _RUN!_. Maxie read it out loud. "Run?" he said. Suddenly he heard a crash. He ran to the window and saw a car with a man in a black suit getting out and walking up the steps to them. "John RUN!" Maxie said, climbing out the window and landing in a skip. "Maxie wait up!" John said. "What's going on?".

Maxie looked at his friend and said, "That man's after me."

"But why?" John replied.

"He works for a company that rounds up special people."

"What do you mean 'special'?"

"Down here!" Maxie said running down an alley. "Ok, I'll show you—but you can't tell anyone."

"I won't," John said out of breath.

"I can freeze things," Maxie said.

"Yea right."

"No, I can," Maxie replied. "I'll show you". Maxie grabbed a trash can and froze it till it shattered into loads of pieces. "You see?"

"Oh god," John said, "you're like a superhero."

"Not quite" Maxie chuckled.

**Rose Doppler, Central Park, New York**

Rose had found her way to Central Park, one of her favorite places. She felt as if she had nothing to fear there. She walked around. She got a glance of a woman getting up from a bench only thirteen steps ahead of her. She went thirteen steps and heard a woman get up. "Excuse me..." she mumbled as the woman brushed her shoulder. She moved forward to the bench until she hit it with her knee. She turned and sat down quietly. She listened to the wind, the birds, the people. She let how a heavenly sigh, "Central Park...so....so....peaceful." She mumbled to herself.

She heard a little girl laughing and a mother with her. "Mommy! Mommy!" She heard the little girl's footsteps running until they stopped, followed by a mothers groan. She had picked up her child. "I love you mommy."

Rose watched in her mind as a mother held her child tight as they hugged in Central Park. The mother kissed the daughter's forehead and told her she loved her too.

"I love you too, sweetie." She heard the smacking of lips. "Time to go home. Daddy's waiting!"

"YAY!" the little girl laughed. Rose sighed as their footsteps faded. She felt something cold and wet run down her face. Her hand met her face and she tried to wipe it away, but it just kept coming. She just sat there crying and thinking of her mother.

**Maxie Thomas, New York**

Maxie and John sat on a bench in Central Park. "What are we gonna do, Maxie?" John said.

"Well I guess we could just get jobs and rent out a new apartment," he said, looking at the floor. "I guess running is all I can do."

"What do you mean 'I'? You've gotten me into this so I can't go back," John said.

"NO!" Maxie shouted. "It's too dangerous for you."

"Maxie, I don't have anywhere to go—they destroyed our house," John said putting his head in his hands.

"Ok, fine then," Maxie said. "I'll let you come with me. Get the paper and we will look for jobs."

**Rose Doppler, New York**

Rose had made her way out of Central Park. She was back at the apartment.

She placed her hand on the railing and went back up the stairs until she felt a nail sticking out of the railing. "My floor." She walked down a small hallway, feeling the doors. She came to one with brail on it. She pushed up on the door and turned the knob to the left, then swiftly to the right and held it, then let it go. She pushed the door a little bit and it opened. She walked in and felt for the door. She slammed it hard behind her. She walked in and just fell to the floor. She laid there, reached up on her bed and grabbed a pillow and removed her sunglasses. She placed the pillow softly on her face and screamed, "AHHHH! WHY? WHY WHY WHY???" She removed the pillow and just laid there crying.

Rose sighed and sat up. She saw herself moving over to her desk and clicking her radio and turning it three times to her favorite channel. She moved over to her desk and did just that. She turned it up loud and laid back on her floor throwing her pillow back on her bed. She sighed and replayed memories of her and her mother in her head.


	5. The Club

**Nica & Bela Luxor, Club eX**

Nica and Bela stood behind the red velvet rope that blocked the entrance to Club eX, wearing the outfits they'd each bought earlier that day. Nica was dressed in jeans and a white shirt with a plunging neckline, hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail. Bela wore a scandalous red dress and silver stilettos, her chest and wrists adorned with layers of silver necklaces and bracelets.

"We're next!" Bela said excitedly, tugging at her sister's arm. They had been waiting for nearly 45 minutes.

"IDs," the bouncer at the door prompted. Nica handed over a pair of ID cards and the man inspected them with a flashlight. His eyes bounced between the IDs and the two girls, and for several long moments both girls feared they would be caught. At last he handed them back and unlocked the rope, stepping aside to let them pass.

Inside the bar, once they were beyond the earshot of the bouncer Bela looked down at her ID which now displayed her school's logo and student information. "What a cool idea to turn our school IDs into drivers licenses. You're so smart, Nica," she said admirably.

"They didn't really change, I just projected the hologram on top of them," she explained.

"Big words, whatever. Let's have a drink!"

Before Nica could protest her sister dragged her over to the bar. The bartender was a slender blond woman whose breasts were barely covered by a top that looked like it was plucked out of Rocky Horror Picture Show. Nica diverted her eyes before the girl noticed her staring.

"Heya ladies, what can I get ya?"

"Long island iced tea, please."

"Coke," Nica said, eyes fixated on pool table in the corner.

Bela smacked her arm. "Oh come on, don't be so grown up."

"One of us has to be. You know I only agreed to come here to watch out for you."

"Oh yeah right, you know you wanted an excuse. Admit it, this is awesome!"

Nica didn't want to admit that her sister was right, so instead she sipped her coke and looked over the crowd. The back of the bar was a large dance floor with a live DJ blaring house music.

"Let's dance!" Bela said suddenly, but this time when she grabbed her arm Nica resisted.

"That's where I draw the line. You go, I'll just hang out here."

"Oh I see, so you can pick up on the cute bartender," she said none too quietly. "Alright, I'll catch up with you in a bit," she said before disappearing into the mass of people.

Nica was way too embarrassed to stay at the bar so she set her drink down and walked toward the bathroom, but a dark figure passing through her peripheral vision caught her attention. As soon as she turned to look it was gone and she wondered if she had just imagined it.

Half an hour passed and Nica couldn't stand the boredom anymore. She'd already memorized every inch of the club, and was now resorting to eavesdropping on a group of drunk guys playing darts to keep herself amused.

She'd lost track of her sister a while ago, and now set out to find her. Moving over to the platform that the DJ was on for a better vantage point, she swept her eyes over the crowd in search of her sister's vivid red dress. After nearly a minute she realized Bela was nowhere to be found.

Knowing that the bathroom would be the next logical place to look, she started toward it but suddenly stopped. Somehow she knew she wouldn't find her there. Her "twintuition" was kicking in, a sinking feeling in her stomach that brought her eyes to the entrance.

Pushing her way through the crowded room, she managed to get outside where the bouncer was still checking IDs. "Excuse me, can you tell me if a girl in a bright red dress came out here a little while ago?"

The bouncer looked a little annoyed that she had interrupted him but nodded toward the end of the line. "Saw her walk off that way with an older man."

The feeling in her stomach got worse. "Thanks," she said hurriedly and ran off in the direction he'd indicated. She came to an intersection and looked all three ways indecisively.

Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she hit the 5-key which was her sister's speed dial number. It rang, twice, three times... She dropped the phone away from her ear but just before she hung up something stopped her. Very faintly, she caught the sound of her sister's ringtone.

She turned left and bolted down the street but the melody stopped. Pressing redial, she tried her best to block out the sounds of the city and focus. Suddenly she realized where it was coming from. Between the building on her left and the one just in front of it was an alley, maybe five feet wide. Fearing what she would find but unable to stop herself, she approached it and stared down the long empty space between the buildings.

Bela struggled against the man who was pinning her against the wall of the alley. He held both of her wrists with one of his hands and was gripping them so tightly that she was beginning to lose feeling. The stench of alcohol on his breath was almost enough to gag her. She started to scream and he clapped a hand over her mouth.

_How could I have been so stupid?_ she wondered as tears began to well in her eyes. The man, a professional looking person who was probably in his thirties, had been flirting with her on the dance floor before summoning her to the bar. She'd allow him to buy her a drink but had slipped away to the bathroom to check her hair and make-up. _He must've slipped something in it then,_ she realized now. She was already feeling unsteady when he lead her outside. When he pulled her into the alley she could barely walk on her own. And when he pinned her to the wall and started kissing her she was powerless to stop it.

She tried to turn invisible to sneak away but the drugs were clouding her mind. She couldn't control her powers in that state. _Please, someone, help me...._

As if answering her prayers, a police car appeared on the street in the space between the buildings, commanding their attention. An officer stepped out and came toward them, drawing her gun. A second one emerged from the passenger's side and stood at her side, mimicking his partner.

"Get off of her right now and get your hands up!" she called, pointed the gun squarely at the man. He froze and stared as if trying to determine whether she was serious. "I'll fire," she warned, releasing the safety. It was enough to convince him, and he quickly let go of Bela and stumbled away from her, then made a drunken run for the other end of the alley. Bela watched him scale a chain link fence and when he was over the other side of it she collapsed.

The officer barely caught her before she hit the ground. "You alright, Bela? Did he..." She was unable to finish.

"Nica? Is that you? No, he didn't...I mean you got here before... Thank god!" She threw her arms around her sister's neck and started to cry.

The police car and male officer vanished as Nica helped Bela to her feet and wrapped an arm around her protectively. "It's alright, you're safe now. Come on, let's go home."


	6. The Capture

**Sirus Demium, New York **

"Another one bites the dust," Sirus said in a failed attempt at good humor. The things he did were naturally so unsettling that he preferred not to even think of them, especially the victims. It seemed as his tally marks grew more numerous, so did his hit list.

Speaking of, Sirus drew an old, worn piece of parchment from his duster coat. It was the document he had stolen; on it were the names of several people that possessed, or would one day possess abilities. Not just your average abilities, like levitation—these were different. Like his latest victim, who would one day manifest the power to reach out into anyone's mind...anywhere in the world, and make them do whatever he wanted, just by thinking about them.

"Who's next...." He flipped open the New York section of the file and began to read down the list.

"Freeze!" Jacob yelled as he stepped into view, almost from nowhere, raising his company issued hand gun. He studied the young man standing before him, taking in all of his features, making sure that he couldn't possibly be hiding any firearms.

"You're a good one...aren't you." he smiled, walking ever more closer. "Thought you could be next Sylar, walk around knocking off people with abilities...but you made a mistake. A grave mistake." Jacob relaxed as he was now within range that his ability began to take effect. If the boy tried to use his powers now, they would be useless.

"You see, that man you just killed, was tagged with a radioactive isotope. If he were to die, we would know. Naturally, by killing him, you absorbed some of the isotope yourself, making it easy for us to track you. Now...put your hands behind your head...and I won't have to shoot you."

Sirus had to admit, he was startled at first, listening to the man jibe him about his mistakes. Although he had a fair point, that radioactive isotope was something he would have to watch out for in the future. Sirus made a mental note of two of the things he said, the repeated use of the word 'we' and the mention of 'Sylar'. It was something he would have to look into.

"I don't think you know who your screwing with pal." Sirus outstretched his hands, raising them before him as he usually did to create dark matter projectiles. But to his sudden dismay, nothing happened. "What the hell..." He then lunged with his right arm, expecting a near-invisible shockwave to throw the man off of his feet, yet again, no results.

Jacob allowed himself a superior grin and one of his famous looks that said I told you so. "Oh, young man, I think it is you who doesn't know what you are dealing with. But I figured you would want to play it that way. Don't worry, I brought along plan B."

Jacob reached into his jacket and drew a taser. He raised the weapon at chest level, aiming for Sirus, and pulled the trigger.

"Shit!" Sirus turned to run, but before he could so much as take five steps in the opposite direction he was hit in the back by the taser, volts of electricity flowing through his body, causing him to waver and his vision to go blurry before he finally passed into unconsciousness, toppling over onto the side walk.

Jacob approached him and gave a gentle nudge with his foot to make sure he was knocked out cold. Then he pulled out his cell phone and made a quick call, "This is Elliot—he's down; move in for pick up and transportation back to Kirby Plaza."

Jacob glanced down at the boy as he stirred in his sleep. "Let's be quick about this, I want to pick out a nice room for him to stay in."

Jacob watched from the other side of the glass as the young man, now known to be Sirus Demium, was laid rather, no-so-gently into the cell in the basement of the Kirby Plaza location. He smiled and said, "Now you sit there and think about what you have done."

He then turned to another agent and said, "Watch this one, he might still be dangerous."

Sirus sat up as the man left, feeling a pit of hate gathering in his stomach. He looked around the bare cell and began to take in his surroundings. Despite how hard he focused, he could not make any of the lights flicker, nor could he move the shadows on the walls.

Sirus narrowed his eyes and concentrated harder, focusing, not even stopping when his head began to hurt. Just as blood began to trickle out of his nose, a light bulb on the panel above his head began to flicker erratically. Sirus smiled and laid back down on the floor. It would take some doing, but soon enough he would be free.


	7. The Graduation

**Lincoln High School, San Francisco**

Daniel and his partner had been sent to San Francisco to collect two twins, both with abilities. They pulled up to Lincoln High School got out of the car and walked through the doors. They both went to see the head teacher. Disguising them self as police they asked to speak to the girls about a robbery.

"And now I present to you, Lincoln High School's Class of 2009!"

The collection of students threw their caps into the air and erupted into cheers. As the family and friends who were watching from the bleachers began to trickle onto the football field, the graduates started to coalesce into smaller cliques to say their goodbyes or make plans for celebrations.

A group of popular girls gathered around Bela and a few of Nica's friends, the _smart_ crowd which included their class valedictorian, pulled her away. Nica became immersed in conversation and barely noticed when her parents came up behind her.

"Hey sweetie," her dad said, giving her a tight hug before releasing her to let her mother have a turn. Looking around the field, he asked, "Where's Bela?"

Nica turned to the spot where Bela's group was still conversing and saw that she was nowhere to be seen. _Typical,_ Nica thought, noting that Bela's boyfriend was there apparently questioning some of the girls.

"She must've just ducked out. Maybe she's in the bathroom or something? I'll send her a text and tell her to meet us by the car," she said, knowing there was no hope of finding her if she didn't want to be found.

Bela waited until she was safely behind the locker room to materialize. She didn't want to ruin the day by breaking up with her boyfriend so she decided the best thing to do was just avoid him. After all, once she and Nica moved to their dorm in New York she would never have to see him again. So she'd slipped away under the pretense of going to find her sister and then turned invisible when she was fairly certain no one was looking.

Presently her phone went off in her pocket, startling her. She pulled it out and opened it to read the message from her sister.

Daniel spotted one of them, Bela. He ran out of the office to where she was and shouted, "BELA! OVER HERE!" Acting as though he knew her he ran up to her. He knew she would run away and that was all he wanted—as soon as he got them both out of sight he could fly.

Bela looked up from her phone to see a man in a suit coming toward her and calling her name. She froze for a second as she tried to remember who he was and then... _Oh my God, it must be the guy from the other night._ She had no idea how he found her at school and wondered if he had gotten a hold of her school id somehow. She knew she couldn't use her power in front of him so she did the only thing she could—she ran.

Daniel laughed and ran after the girl as soon as they were out of sight he started flying. "There's no use in running," he shouted. Daniel was getting lower ready to grab her.

Bela risked a glance in the direction of the voice and couldn't believe what she was seeing. The man was flying above her, his dark silhouette casting an ominous shadow over her. As he swooped down Bela made a split-second decision and changed directions, ducking into a corridor in the nearest building. She turned a corner and ran into the girls' bathroom, knowing he would be only seconds behind her. Before the door could even close behind her she became invisible and hid underneath the farthest sink in plain sight.

Daniel saw her go in the girls bathroom, he entered and locked the door behind him. "I know what your ability is" He said "And you think I didn't come prepared" Daniel pulled out a pair of glasses. "Now let's see if you can guess what these glasses do?" he said looking right at her.

Bela heard his words but refused to respond. She knew his only hope was if he was bluffing. Realizing she had no other option, she took out her cell phone (which was also invisible) and sent a message to her sister:

_400 bathroom_

_  
_

Nica was on her way back to the car when she heard her text ringtone go off.

"Is that Bela?" her mom asked.

"Yeah, she said she's in the bathroom. She'll probably be here pretty soon."

"Let's drive over there so we can meet her outside. Did she tell you which one?" Nica's parents were eager to get some lunch and planned on taking the twins to their favorite restaurant.

"Yeah, 400 building. I'll show you how to get there." The three of them got into the car and joined the long line of traffic heading out of the parking lot.

=============================================================================================

"So Bela... Do you like sitting under the sinks in here?" he said, looking right at her. "These glasses are nifty things. They allow me to see heat so I can see your body heat," he said.

Bela was glad the man was stalling. That would give time for Nica to get here and then her sister would save her like she always did.

"Bela..." Daniel said "I work for a company that teaches you how to use your powers. Now at the moment you are a threat to society so you can either come with me or i can take you take your pick?".

Bela started to realize that her sister wasn't coming for her. It was finally up to her to get herself out of this mess. If he could see her with his glasses, there was no way she could get by him undetected. Also, he was obviously a lot stronger so it would be no use attacking him. Slowly Bela emerged from the sink.

"How do I know you won't hurt me if I agree to go with you?"

"You have to take my word for it" he said slowly walking up to her and grabbing her arm. "It's not like I would hurt you...." he said "... unless you struggle". Still holding her he flew up and towards the car.

Nica stepped inside the 400 building bathroom and checked the stalls but they all appeared empty. Locking the door so that no one would walk in at an untimely moment, she called, "Sis? Hey, it's just me. Come on out." She was met with silence.

Something pink in the far corner of the bathroom caught her eye. She bent down and picked up her sister's cell phone which had been abandoned there. _That's weird, she never goes anywhere without it._ Without it, there was no way for Nica to get a hold of her.

Walking back to the car, Nica decided it would be best not to worry her parents. She would just have to cover for her sister until she found out where she went.

Nica opened the car door and was just about to lie when her dad said, "Oh hey, I guess we sent you in there for nothing. We just got a message from Bela that she's got invited to stay with some of her friends for a few days."

"I wish we would've had a little notice," said her mother worriedly. "But you girls are 18 so you're free to do as you chose. I just hope she's safe..."

"She'll be fine," her dad said reassuringly. Meanwhile Nica just stood there, mouth ajar, unable to accept what she was hearing.

"Dad...you said Bela called you herself?"

"Ya, just before you came out. How come?"

Nica touched the phone in her pocket that she had retrieved from the bathroom. She'd already had it in her possession when Bela had supposedly called. "No reason," she said, slipping into the backseat. Suddenly she was sick with fear but refused to let her parents know.

"You okay?" her mom asked, her motherly instincts kicking in.

"I'm fine," Nica lied. "Let's get some lunch."

**Nica Luxor, Luxor house**

When Nica was finally alone in her bedroom she locked the door and plopped down on her bed, removing the phone from her pocket. The first thing she did was to check the outgoing calls. As expected, there was no call to her parents at the time they claimed. But perhaps Bela had called from another phone, one of her friend's. She thumbed through Bela's contacts until she found Ashlee, her best friend besides Nica. Pressing talk, she waited through each ring with a heavy heart.

"Hey Bela oh my god I can't believe you just ditched us today and you boyfriend was totally like wanting to hook up with you tonight and I don't even know why you guys are still together 'cause everyone knows you're not even that into him."

"Actually, this is Nica," she said at the end of the girl's crazy run on sentence.

"What? No way, I totally checked the call id-- Why are you calling from Bela's phone?"

"Oh, we accidently mixed our phones up this morning. Actually that's why I was calling, I wanted to find her so we switch back. You said she left you guys?"

"Yeah, totally disappeared right when Todd walked up. I didn't even see her go."

"Okay. Well hey, she said something about maybe staying with you or some other friends of yours for a couple of days. You know anything about that?"

"No way, I mean I'm gonna be spending the summer in Europe and we leave tomorrow and Lindsay and Courtney and Katie are heading to Mexico for a week and...." She proceeded to list off the activities of every single one of their friends. Nica listened intently, needing to be sure that there was no chance the call was real. Five minutes later Ashlee ended, "So basically the only person whose plans I don't know about is Bela. That's iconic, huh?"

"Ironic?"

"Oh yeah..." She laughed, having apparently amused herself.

"I must have just misunderstood. Thanks anyway Ashlee." She hung up before the girl could tell her the summer plans for the rest of the school.

Now she knew, Bela really was missing. She collapsed back on her pillow, wondering where she could possibly start to bring her back.


	8. The Cell

**Daniel Thomas & Bela Luxor, New York City**

Bela reacted too slowly to get away and the next thing she knew she was flying through the air. She clung to him for dear life, her fear of heights overwhelming her fear of the strange man.

Daniel looked at her and laughed. Slowly after he started to fly down and placed her in the car. He locked her in the back so as she couldn't get out and slowly started to drive away.

Bela stared out from the back of the car. She couldn't believe the man had taken her all the way to New York. This was her first time on the east coast and she suddenly felt very lost in the unfamiliar city without her sister. Which reminded her...

"Hey, my family's gonna be wondering where I am. I need to contact them and let them know I'm okay."

"Your parents won't wonder where you are," Daniel said. "We have told them you have gone to stay at a friend's for a while."

Bela sat back in the seat with her arms crossed. "So where exactly are we going?"

"You'll see," he said as the car slowed to a stop. Daniel slowly got out and opened the door for her. "Welcome to your new home: Primatech Paper." Grabbing her arm, he pulled her into the building

Bela studied the building with a curious expression. "Primatech Paper? You gonna be teaching me how to use a copier?" she said sarcastically.

Daniel dragged Bela through the lobby and took her into the elevator. Pulling a lever that brought up new buttons, he said, "This is no paper company."

Bela watched with amazement as a set of secret buttons emerged at the man's command. Despite her apprehension she was impressed with the spy-movie quality of the man and the building. She was even a little flattered that she had been chosen to be captured and brought here over her sister, who was obviously the more powerful of the two. She let her eyes wander to her captor, and only now began to realize how handsome he was. After all, she always had a thing for older men.

"So do you have a name or am I just gonna be referring to you as 'my kidnapper' from now on?"

"Mr. Thomas will be fine," he said looking at the young girl. "And may you please stop gazing at me." Daniel pressed the button that said Level 1. Getting out of the elevator there was one cell in front of them. "You will stay in this cell till you decide if you would like to work for the Company or not." Daniel opened the cell and waited for the girl to go in.

"You can't seriously expect me to stay in that thing. It's like one of those boxes you stick crazy people in. Where's the digital TV, or the internet? And for god's sake where is the closet??? You can't expect me to wear this one outfit the whole time you keep me here."

Ignoring the open door, Bela approached him within a foot and dropped her voice. "You should really learn how to treat a girl, _Mr. Thomas_."

"You don't have to wear that; you wear _this_"—Daniel passed her a gray jump suit—"and get in your cell, please. I can't be waiting all day."

Bela scoffed at the jump suit but took it from him and walked into the cell. Removing her graduation robe she said teasingly, "You'd better not look."

"I have ties older than you!" he said, laughing. He locked the cell and looked through the hatch, saying "Press the buzzer when you want to talk".

Once Bela was finished changing she pressed the buzzer and said, "So what did you have in mind?"

"Well if you join us we will be training you, and if you don't we send you up to the other cells."

Bela bit her lip as she thought about what to do. Nica would probably tell the guy to go screw himself and then plan her escape. But she wasn't her sister. The safest thing to do would be to cooperate for the moment, and then look for her chance. And as long as she was locked up there, she might as well take advantage of the opportunity to learn how to control her power.

"If I agree to train with you, will you promise to leave my sister alone?" To someone observing it may have seemed that she was looking out for Nica, but in fact Bela had an ulterior motive. She loved her sister, but she was tired of Nica always being the one who excelled at everything. For once, she wished she could do something better than her. "After all, my sister will never cooperate with you guys, and I'm sure my power would be a big benefit to your company."

"We won't go for your sister," he said looking at her. "Get this girl a room. Her training starts tomorrow".

Jacob waited until the girl had been led away from the room before he walked in and handed a file to Daniel, "I have a new assignment for you. There's a bookstore in midtown New York. I want you to stop by and check on a man named John Walker. This is just observation—get close, watch him, but don't bring him yet. Also, he can replicate abilities, so don't let him touch you."

Jacob turned to walk away, but stopped after a moment and turned around to face Daniel. "The target Maxie Thomas got away again today. I even sent reinforcements to cover all the doors, but he just keeps slipping way. It's almost like someone within the Company his helping him." Jacob gave Daniel a half smile and left the room.

"Ok Sir!" Daniel shouted. As he left to leave Kirby Plaza he was confused he knew it wasn't him letting him get away so who was it?

**Sirus Demium, Primatech, Level 5**

"Finally." Sirus opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. With a mere thought, the lights flickered and then popped and exploded, showering sparks onto the floor. Sirus stood up and looked around. Thanks to his ability, he could also see in the dark. He stepped up to the observation window and looked through the slots in the glass and a moment later he vanished through the shadows and reappeared on the other side.

"Fun time," Sirus kicked open the door and stepped out into the hallway. Almost instantly two agents drew their weapons and fired, but Sirus vanished and their bullets hit a blank wall. The agents looked around confused. Sirus could only smile as he reappeared behind them and raised his hands. He raised his palms and the lights began to flicker as all of the photons in the room were drawn into the palms of his hands, swirling around like miniature black holes.

By time the agents turned around Sirus raised his hands and fired off the orbs, sending the two of them flying backwards down the hall. The alarms went off and more Primatech agents stormed into the hallway, all wasting no time drawing their weapons and shooting to kill. In a blur of motion Sirus transported behind one man, gathering energy into his hands and shooting a more concentrated blast through the man's stomach. Sirus stepped out of the shadow of another agent and slammed his knee into the man's stomach, causing him to topple over.

Within the next five minutes Sirus walked into the bathroom on the upper level, hands dripping with blood. He walked up to the sink and began to wash his hands. Another man entered the bathroom behind him and froze staring in horror at all of the blood dripping all over the sink and onto the floor. Sirus turned and smiled, "Tough day at work."

Despite the fact that half of Kirby Plaza was still searching for him, Sirus made his way into the main office of the Primatech facility. He spent a decent amount of time sorting through all of the files and taking anything he thought would be useful to his mission.

Sirus paused as he came across a file marked 'Sylar'. He picked it up and began flipping through, reading over details. He heard footsteps coming and stepped into the shadows. He had overstayed his welcome anyway. Sirus took the files and left, heading off the Kirby Plaza property limits.

"What the hell happened here!?!" Jacob shouted watching as several of his best men were lifted onto stretchers and wheeled out of the building. He turned to another agent and shook his head. "I thought we had this situation under control."

"We—I...He was stronger than we originally thought. The cell didn't do much to restrain his abilities."

Jacob snarled, "Then you should have shot him!"

"We tried—"

"_Enough_. I need solutions, not excuses. Right now we have not one, but two super powered serial killers loose in New York city. Put all of our units on alert and issue a shoot to kill order. This needs to be contained."


	9. The Bookstore

**Bookstore, New York City**

John was sitting at the counter of the book store reading a book. Business was slow today. Every few minutes he would look up to see if there was anyone in the store. It was sometimes dull working at the bookstore, but he got to catch up on his reading, especially on days like these. He looked back down at the book. "I can't believe how crazy this guy is." Jack was reading the book "Advanced Evolutionary Mutation." He was chuckling at everything he read because it made no sense. "I would love to see how someone could freeze things with their hands. This is just hilarious." He turned the page and continued reading.

There was something about book stores that seemed to pacifySirus. As he walked through the various isles, he began to feel like a kid again. Back home in London he would go to the public library almost on a daily basis. Often his mom, or his brother, hell even his father often drove him, taking turns, like shifts. Sirus knew it must have been a hassle for them, but that's the kind of love their family had been built on. But that was a long time ago.

Sirus stepped up to the cashier standing behind the front desk, "Excuse me mate, I was wondering if you had a phone book I could borrow; the one in the phone booth outside was stolen?"

John looked up from his book at Sirus. "Um, phone books… Let me check the archives." John turned to the computer and typed _phone books_ into the search engine. John read what was on the screen and turned back to Sirus. "Sorry, we get our shipment of new phone books in two days. If you want I could check in the back for an older phone book." The book he was reading was sitting on the counter open to the section on predicting the future through precognition.

"Ah, sure, you do that," Sirus picked up the book as the cashier disappeared into the back room. He began to pick through the pages and then went to the index., "Huh, 'advanced' evolution my ass. There's nothing in here about photons..." Sirus set the book back and waited for the cashier to come back.

John didn't really go too far into the back so he wasn't out of earshot. He walked back to the man and placed the phone book on the counter. "This book is only a year old, so some of the newer stores and residents may not be in here." He scanned the book and looked back at the guy. "I don't mean to intrude or anything, but did you say something about photons?"

John quickly turned his head to the man who just walked in. "Yes, check in the fiction section under 'Rowling' and it should be there; if it is not in the fiction section then it is in the Science fiction section."

Sirus smiled and opened up the book and began copying down a few addresses. "Yes, photons. You know—light, solor energy, black holes...that sort of cosmic nonsense." Sirus finished copying down the five addresses he needed and handed back the phone book. "Interesting theories in there, it would be amazing if people could actually do that."

John nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, that is true." John quickly cleared the phone book from the register and placed it under the counter. "Look, I heard what you said about the book I was reading, but I won't talk about it here."

Daniel was outside the book store he was sent to. He feared for Maxie's life. Daniel slowly walked in the book shop and said, "Do you have anything by J.K. Rowling? My daughter loves her."

John looked at the man who had recently entered and asked for the Rowling books. For whatever reason John didn't think this guy was here for Rowling books.

Daniel was behind the book stand peering through. He saw a lot about the man. He was being cautious that he didn't touch him.

John saw something out of the corner of his eye. He didn't move his head, but he could tell what it was. The man who just walked in was looking at him, but the way he doing this was not secretive at all. The shop was too small for anyone to do what he is doing. John finally looked over at the man. "Do you need help finding the book you are looking for?" He would get back to the photon kid in a minute, because the man in the suit just gave him the creeps.

"No I'm ok, thanks. I'm just looking," he said, looking through the books; he was not looking at the man at all.

Maxie had been given the works of Dr. Suresh by his parents when he was a child. He decided to walk into the book shop to ask the man if there were any more books by him.

Sirus nodded his agreement, and while the cashier was busy talking to one of the other customers, Sirus reached down into the open register and grabbed several twenty dollar bills. He then turned and began heading for the door; as he walked out he passed a young man and gave him a smile and then winked as he vanished instantly in darkness outside.

"Do you have any books by Dr. Suresh?" Maxie asked. "If you don't, could I order one to my apartment?" Maxie looked round the store at the other people.

John spun quickly but not quickly enough. "Damn it!" He hopped over the counter and walked outside. He looked all around but saw nothing. "Damn it." He turned and walked back into the store. "Great." John closed his eyes in anger and walked into Maxie by accident. "Oh sorry." He placed a hand on Maxie's shoulder to show that he was acknowledging him that he was sorry. But for whatever reason John's hand seemed to glow, though he didn't notice it, someone else might notice it. "Suresh, um." He let go of Maxie and walked to the counter. He picked up the book and handed it to him. "I think this is what you are looking for."

Daniel looked up and saw his son. "Dear god," he mumbled to himself. He ran out of the shop and flew away.

John watched as the man flew away. "No way." He looked down at the book. "It is true. Everything in this book is true." He looked at the kid. "Before I sell you this book, why do you need it?"

"I'm not meant to tell you this but...." Maxie started, "I freeze things." Maxie put his finger on the glass of water on the side and watched it freeze over.

John's eyes shot open. "Wow." He was chuckling. "I can't do anything like that. I thought all of this was a load of bull, but after seeing that weird guy fly away, without buying a book, even though we have a full stock of Rowlings…" John turned away from Maxie with the book still in his hands. "Why did he come into this shop if he wasn't planning on buying anything." John became extremely confused and the hand holding the book turned light blue. The book froze instantly. John didn't seem to notice the book freeze though.

"Dude!" Maxie said. "You ok?". Maxie looked at the book "You do it too?".

John turned "Do wha-" John looked at the book and dropped it causing it to shatter against the ground. "No, I don't think I do that." He thought about what happened earlier. "I think this happened after I touched your shoulder. Hang on." He hopped over the counter and ran to the back of the store and found another copy of the book. He flipped to the very first ability mentioned. He emerged from the back and placed the book on the counter. "I think that I do this." He pointed at the page. "Because when I grabbed your shoulder I think I felt something coursing through my veins."

"What's mine then?" Maxie said looking at the man "I mean, what can I do exactly?" Maxie looked down at the book and started flicking through the pages.

John sat on the stool behind the counter. "Page 29." He had read the book so many times he memorized what page each ability was on. He had read all that there was to know about his ability, but now needed to learn how to control borrowing abilities and then using them.

Maxie looked at it carefully. "Can I please have a copy?" he said, looking at the guy. "I promise if I find anything out I will come here and show you." Maxie was thinking about the photos he had at home and the board he was developing.

"Um, yeah, hang on." He scanned the book quickly to deactivate the bar code. He was going to have a hard time explaining everything that happened today to his boss, and he would most likely be fired. "Well, after getting robbed by a man who disappeared into thin air, I will most likely get fired so just take the book." He wrote down his phone number. "Let me know if you find anything. My name is John by the way."

"OK," Maxie said picking up the book. "Here's my address. If you want anything just come here." Maxie ran out of the store and round the corner to his apartment.


End file.
